Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Second batch

My new hobby of bird-watching has paid dividends this year. The blackbird couple who nested in our rose bush a couple of months ago ended up having three live chicks, whose progress we watched closely. I wondered if they would use the nest again, but they didn't...they moved into the tree that is next door to the rose bush and built another nest for a second batch of eggs.

I have been spending a lot of time in the garden over the past couple of weeks because the weather has been so good, and I have been amazed at how much work these blackbird parents put into feeding their young, and how much noise the chicks make.

I was thrilled to happen to walk past our front door just as the first chick fledged and rather precariously sat in a bush and had a look around. I'm just keeping an eye open to see how many chicks there are in total.

Mark has opened the compost bin slightly and mummy blackbird is finding it a hugely valuable source of food. I'm just wondering if they have enough energy for a third batch...and what happens to the chicks once they get chased away out of their parents' territory.

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Sarah Stewart

Welcome to my blog which is a mix of talk about stuff that takes my fancy. My views are my own and not necessarily of my employer. I am always really interested to hear your thoughts and feedback, so please feel free to leave a comment at any time.